It was a run that had to end at some point. The vital thing for Saints is that they instantly bounce back.

Heading into yesterday’s game against Chelsea it was more than eight months since Saints had last lost at St Mary’s, a run stretching back 13 matches in all competitions.

It underlines just how dominant they have been on their own turf, especially when you consider the quality of some of the opposition they have faced in that time.

If records are there to be broken, then perhaps it was little surprise that it was Chelsea who brought that streak to end, with the Blues having been the last team to win at St Mary’s way back in February.

In fairness they were good value for it.

They were the best team Saints have faced so far this season, with their attacking prowess something to greatly admire.

Their movement, their pace, their ability in the final third was just too much for Saints, who weren’t ever quite sure whether to try and press and close them down or sit off and try to soak it up.

In contrast, Saints were often a little static in their attack and there could be little complaint about the final result.

However, if this was a result that doesn’t really do much in the context of Saints’ season, their next home game, just a few days away against Inter Milan, is far more decisive.

Given the current standings of Group K of the Europa League this is a vital fixture, and Saints need to bounce back to their imperious home form straightaway.

The first half against Chelsea was an entertaining affair between two teams determined to play some decent football.

However, there was little doubt that for all of the good things about Saints’ play, it was Chelsea who looked far more dangerous going forward.

Their array of attacking options, and in particular the superb Eden Hazard, were a constant threat.

Saints started off trying to play diagonal balls to stretch a three man Chelsea defence, but too often it was Charlie Austin chasing them down when he needed to be the one in the middle.

There was an early warning for Saints as Cuco Martina had to make a good block to prevent Diego Costa from finishing at the near post after Hazard’s ball in.

But there was no escape on six minutes as Hazard gave the Blues the lead.

It wasn’t great defending from Saints, but it was a good finish as Victor Moses fed the ball to Hazard on the overlap down the right and the Belgian cut back onto his left foot, leaving Steven Davis on the ground, and drilled a low shot through Fraser Forster and into the far corner.

It could have been worse for Saints at the break were it not for Forster, who saved a well struck but central Hazard effort after he cut across the face of the area from the left and then stopped from Costa when he was one-on-one after Nemanja Matic had stolen the ball from Jordy Clasie and threaded it through.

The best Saints managed was from set-pieces, with Austin heading well wide from Davis’ free kick and Tadic striking a dead ball from 25 yards round the edge of the wall only for Thibaut Courtois to make the stop, with what proved to be their only shot on target.

Chelsea were equally as in control in the second period.

Jose Fonte’s superb sliding block prevented Hazard netting a second before Costa got in on the act.

Saints stood off of the striker, which looked a dangerous policy, and so it proved as from 20 yards he curled a perfectly measured curling shot into the opposite top corner.

Puel brought on Sofiane Boufal, but Saints never looked like getting back into it.

They just could not generate any kind of movement to unsettle Chelsea’s back line.

The nearest they came was another Austin header that went over, David Luiz’s defensive header which looped onto the top of the crossbar, and Austin getting the ball in the net only to be flagged for a marginal offside.

It was Chelsea who could, and probably should, have got the game’s third goal.

Costa fired wide at the near post, Moses saw his shot bounce back off of Forster but Chelsea tried to walk the rebound in and were eventually shut out before two more Forster saves, these from Hazard and Moses.

It’s been rare to see Saints so convincingly outplayed, let alone at St Mary’s, in recent times.

However, given the quality of Chelsea there is little shame in it.

What they must do is leave it behind them quickly, because Thursday night is a truly massive evening for the club in so many ways.